[quote=ocrenter]a relative showed me a hospital bill from Taiwan recently. he just had ear related surgery, was in the hospital for 3 days. everything added up was $3000. he himself had a $300 co-pay.
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How much does a surgeon make in Taiwan?
[quote]no Eugene, it is like the infamous $60 charge for a tablet of aspirin. you survey 10 hospital administrators and you’ll find 10 defending that until they are blue in the face.[/quote]
That’s why you have insurance companies. The hospital can charge you $60 and they can defend their charge till they are blue in the face, but, if the Medicare reimbursement fee schedule says that one tablet of aspirin is worth 50c, that’s what they’ll get and not a penny more. Once they get 50c, they’ll probably shut up and eat the difference.
Of course, the system would make a lot more sense if it were single-payer. Not necessarily cheaper, but more logical and without so many gaps. No doubt about that.
